The invention relates to internal combustion engines in general, especially to compression-ignition engines, and more particularly to improvements in those parts of engines which serve to supply a fuel charge to and to evacuate exhaust gases from the combustion chambers of an engine having three or more cylinders. Still more particularly, the invention relates to improvements in cylinder heads and cylinder head covers for use in engines of the above outlined character.
German Pat. No. 2,556,662 discloses a four-cylinder internal combustion engine wherein the cylinder head has a single opening for exhaust gases and is provided with passages connecting the single opening with the combustion chambers for all four cylinders. A drawback of the patented engine is that it must employ an inlet manifold with pipes serving to supply fuel charges to the inlet valves for the four cylinders.
German Pat. No. 744,040 discloses an internal combustion engine with a suction chamber which is provided in and is adjacent a longitudinally extending wall of a cover. The chamber has discrete outlets for fuel charges, one outlet for each cylinder of the engine, and such outlets admit fuel charges into discrete cylinder heads.
It was also proposed to effect a thorough intermixing and agitation of exhaust gases by merging the passages for evacuation of exhaust gases from the combustion chambers of a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine. This was achieved by installing in the passages obstructions and by providing additional dead spaces in the channel which collects exhaust gases issuing from discrete combustion chambers. Such mode of collecting exhaust gases was intended to provide a longer reaction time for and to thus reduce the percentage of deleterious ingredients in exhaust gases.